


The OST of Our Lives

by maleficaster



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Gen, How Do I Tag, M/M, Not Beta Read, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, References to Persona 5 OST, References to other music, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28617840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maleficaster/pseuds/maleficaster
Summary: “Did you really risk our entire plan just to play music at random times from Akechi’s phone!?”“I didn’t risk the plan.” Futaba shrugs. “He’s far too deep into denial to have caught on.”“What do you mean ‘too deep in denial?’ That doesn’t make any sense!”-[Or, after Futaba meets the party, music becomes a regular part of the Phantom Thieves lives.]
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira & Sakura Futaba, Phantom Thieves of Hearts & Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Comments: 2
Kudos: 150
Collections: Quality Persona Fics, Skurrel's Personal Fanfic Recommendations | Favorites





	The OST of Our Lives

I. ♪ _The Days My Mother Was There_ ♪ 

Goosebumps form on Akira’s arms as he feels the cold air blasting throughout the first room of the pyramid palace, and Akira can’t help but sigh in relief at the drastic shift of temperature. The others seem equally relieved in their own ways; ahead of them he can see Ryuji whose eagerness oozes into each of his steps come to a stop and turns around to face the group with a smile. 

“Whoa! It’s so nice inside, is this place air conditioned or something?” 

“It may be because Futaba’s room in reality has AC pumping through it. Either way, this is a relief…” Makoto says.

“Would that also explain the music?” Yusuke ponders.

The group is silent as they listen, a repetitive rhythm playing in the background, slowly adding more sounds to the melody. It’s relaxing to listen to, even if it almost feels like there’s something missing.  


“I didn’t hear music coming from her room…” Makoto responds with a thoughtful look on her face. 

“Maybe she likes to play videogames?” Akira slips a hand into his pocket. 

“Ooooh, so this is kinda like a dungeon theme!” For once, it’s Ryuji who catches on. “Cool!”

“That would mean she doesn’t consider this area safe.” Makoto crosses her arms.

“Maybe it’s not entirely dangerous?” Yusuke hums. “The music is calming while also energetic… I don’t know much about music theory but it doesn’t feel like we’re in danger here.”

“Now that you mention it, our clothes haven’t changed yet,” Ann says. “This has never happened to us before…” 

II. ♪ _Blooming Villain_ ♪ 

The music that had been a constant throughout Futaba’s palace changes the second she's within Necronomicon.

“What?” Futaba questions, voice shaky with a hint of an embarrassed laugh. “Aren’t you supposed to have a cool theme when taking down important bosses?”

“You have good taste,” Joker responds with a grin before he returns his focus to the cognitive Wakaba Isshiki.

III. ♪ _Beneath the Mask_ ♪ 

“Where have you been…” a soft voice begins to sing. Akira glances up from his phone to look around the subway station, looking for the mysterious voice. “Been searching all along…” It takes him a moment to realize that other individuals looking for the source of the noise begin to stare at him, prompting Akira to look down at his phone again.

There’s a new text notification he hadn’t felt vibrate.

**Futaba:** i have found your theme song!

**Futaba:** every protag needs one

**Futaba:** do you like it?

Akira doesn’t have earbuds on him, usually sticking to his own thoughts on his commutes, so instead of figuring out which app it’s playing from he turns the volume down, just enough so he can hear it while only disturbing those standing closest to him. He waits a bit to respond, letting the instrumentals wash over him, keyboard and drum and guitar to build something reminiscent of jazz. The words are a bit sadder than he'd expect, each line chipping away at the shield over his soul, and that's where his questions for Futaba begin to surface.

**Akira:** i’m not a protagonist

**Akira:** or depressed

**Futaba:** but you have to be the mc! 

**Futaba:** you got the tragic backstory and mysterious aura and special powers

**Akira:** i hate to point this out but most of us fit those boxes

**Futaba:** you’re the only one who looks mysterious

**Futaba:** plus you go out and do shady deals and stuff

**Futaba:** don’t let makoto find out what you were doing tonight

**Futaba:** i think she’d kill you

Akira did not tell Futaba that he went to Untouchable and was helping Iwai with the store and dealing with some very dangerous customers. It’s almost obvious how she found out, and while he hasn’t known Futaba long he doesn’t feel as bothered by it as he should. 

His train pulls into the platform and he slips on and finds a place to stand before he responds to Futaba. 

**Akira:** ok so i keep some secrets

**Akira:** i do like it though

**Akira:** the music i mean

**Futaba:** (●＾o＾●) good! 

**Akira:** ...got any earbud recommendations?

**Akira:** i suspect i’ll need some

**Futaba:** ^m^ ofc!

(The next day, he learns that Futaba ended up finding themes for everyone. It makes him smile, to see her getting to know everyone. It’s another step of emerging from her shell, and while it’s only been a couple of weeks he’s glad to be able to witness her growth.)

IV. ♪ _Take Over / Last Surprise ♪_

While Joker is standing at a distance, watching the fight in preparation for his next move, he taps his foot to the rhythm of the music blasting from Necronomicon.

“Don’t you think that will draw attention to us?” Queen punches one of the shadows and hops back so Joker can safely call for magical damage to test for another weakness.

“Relax,” Oracle says. “We’re the only people who can hear it.”

“I can’t complain about battle music,” Ryuji calls for Captain Kidd and one of the foes falls to their knees. Ryuji pounds his fists together. “I’m feelin’ it.”

Queen rolls her eyes. “As long as you don’t let the music distract you.”

V. ♪ _Careless Whisper_ ♪

The jazz music from the club fades in the distance as the two climb the stairs and return to the streets of Kichijoji, voices quiet as they walk a little too close to one another, shoulders bumping, knuckles brushing, moments of brief but electric eye contact, rosy cheeks that are hard to explain with the night’s lack of early autumn winds. They’re about to turn the corner when the sound of a saxophone blares, familiar from some of the memes Futaba’s sent him. He feels the vibration of each note in his pocket and his face burns brighter.

Akechi himself looks a bit lost because of the sudden music alongside the rest of the late night crowd around them. It ends that moment of the closeness between them, sets him a step behind Akechi, and the music begins to fade out. Akira hates to think that with their suspicions about him, maybe it’s for the best that moment never continued, no matter how much he wanted it to. 

(Later, Futaba messages him an apology. He tells her it’s fine, and it is, but reality still stings.) 

VI. ♪ _Sweatshop_ ♪ 

“Okay, seriously.” Skull turns to Oracle. “Why did you have to give this asshole a good theme?”

Oracle grins. “Makes the palace more fun, don’t ya think?” She pauses, taps her forefinger to her cheek twice. “Plus, good music makes many awful dungeons a little better. And I really hate this place. Awful level design.”

“Uh… okay?”

VII. 

It’s strange, entering a mysterious palace without most of the thieves as backup, without any instruments accompanying his every step. It makes the interior feel colder than it should be. Joker hopes it won’t happen again. 

VIII. ♪ _Sweatshop Pt. 2_ ♪

“I think Father would’ve appreciated your choice in music for him,” Haru tells him and Futaba a week after his passing. “He did prefer classical… I remember, when I was younger, he and mother would sometimes talk about different music. I overheard him once mention that while he didn’t want to admit it, he did like music with electronic sounds... He said it helped him dream of the future.” 

She brings the mug of coffee to her face to take a sip, her hands shaking just a little before she sets it back on the booth table. “I think, now, I see why.”

IX. ♪ _Whims of Fate_ ♪

“Is that… music?” Akechi, recently dubbed as Crow, asks as he searches for the source.

“Oracle plays music from her Persona,” Queen is quick to answer. “I’m not entirely sure how she does it but… it’s nice once you get used to it.”

Crow nods, looking back and forth between the two of them. “And this isn’t an issue?”

“We’re the only people who can hear it,” Joker responds. “But maybe one day we can turn Oracle’s music selection into an effective weapon.”

“Maybe?” Oracle smirks. “I will find something that will make the enemies weep and surrender just listening to it, mark my words.”

“This theme is very fitting for a casino track,” Fox hums, head tilted back as he focuses on the music. “Though I believe that would be the fault of the lyrics.” 

“I think that’s fine, it has such a nice beat.” Panther sways along to the beat as they walk further into the palace, just as they reach the second chorus. Even Joker is tempted to stop moving through with their infiltration and just have a short impromptu dance party, but he presses on, even if it’s a little slow. “You have to send me the track.”

“Sure!” 

X. ♪ _Lyn_ ♪

“You know, I noticed something…” Akechi muses as they exit the palace. “All of your music selections, they’re by the same artist, aren’t they?”

“Pretty much.” Futaba nods. “I didn’t think you cared about music enough to notice.”

It’s a lie; Futaba knows all about their visits to Jazz Jin, would’ve known even if Akira wasn’t willing to divulge the details on his own. 

“I’d argue it’s rather obvious, after all the vocalist has a distinguishable voice,” he counters. “And I do find music relaxing, so I listen to it when I can.”

XI. ♪ _No More What Ifs_ ♪

“I hate you. Your deft handling of your unfortunate circumstances, your uniqueness, your ability to surpass me– all of these–”

“People come and they go…” Akira feels a vibration in his pocket, the familiar voice of the singer from Jazz Jin getting louder every second, then gets turned down a couple of notches after it gets a bit too loud. “Some people may stay with you though…” He looks at Akechi, who looks far more irritated than he had during the course of their fight. 

“And I thought you kept your phone on silent.”

“I do.” Akira fiddles with his hair but hesitates to pull his phone out quite yet. He thinks back to that night a little over a month ago, wonders if this is another warning for him to heed or something else. There’s no running from answering the how this time, though. “It’s Futaba. She likes to play music from everyone’s phones.”

“She does what?” Goro glares at him with an unfamiliar intensity. “How?” 

“I don’t think it’s that important…” Akira murmurs, because there is no way he’s explaining just how good Futaba has been at bugging everyone’s phones. Including Akechi’s.

“Is she why I keep hearing–”

The music that Akira assumes is coming from his phone stops, and seconds later, from what Akira is sure is from a different, but not distant, heavy metal music begins to play that gets more glances turning their way. 

“Fucking hell–” Akechi hisses under his breath as he reaches for his phone and it’s so surprising that Akira can’t help but laugh.

XII. 

“Did you really risk our entire plan just to play music at random times from Akechi’s phone!?” 

“I didn’t risk the plan.” Futaba shrugs. “He’s far too deep into denial to have caught on.”

“What do you mean ‘too deep in denial?’ That doesn’t make any sense!” 

XIII. ♪ _Ark_ ♪ 

“Isn’t Shido supposed to be, like, the final boss for us or something? So why’s his theme…” Ryuji scratches his head. “This?” He settles with.

“I like it,” Joker replies, listening to the violins as they traverse through carpeted halls. 

“But it should be epic. Like, loud drums and trumpets and stuff.”

“Skull.” Panther rolls her eyes. “Just because this is our biggest target yet doesn’t mean he needs some sort of crazy theme. I think it’s fitting.” 

“It makes me feel determined to see this through,” Fox chimes in. “While we’re not ignoring the tragedies of those who have been trampled on by Shido, we’re still walking ahead in order to bring an end to them.”

“Exactly!” Panther nods along. 

“Like we’re absolutely confident of our goals,” Queen ponders. “I didn’t think about it that way until now. I must admit, it has appeal.”

Skull shrugs. “I guess…” 

XIV. ♪ _Rivers in the Desert_ ♪

Despite the serious consequences of failure, it may have been difficult to resist dancing to this boss theme.

“It’s super effective!” Oracle screeches when she sees Joker flip and attack to the beat of the rhythm. The others are quick to follow suit, dancing while they wait for openings in the cognitive Shido’s defenses.

He hasn’t made much of a move to attack, only defending himself from their blows. He just stands, staring at the different members of the group with the most befuddled look Joker has ever seen. Maybe Joker should be more worried by their levity, but this sight is far too amusing.

(He thinks if Akechi were here he would’ve thought so too.)

XV. ♪♪♪ 

The music starts playing, and the first thing Joker does, instead of summoning a persona, instead of attacking the false god or commanding the others to do so, he turns to Oracle who has a shit-eating grin on her face.

“Why?” Is the only word he can mutter. He recognizes the song for what it is, even if he can’t understand it: the bells in the background give it a distinctly Christmas sound even if it hadn’t been even obvious by the repeated use of the word Christmas amongst the other English pop jargon. 

“I figured we needed some holiday cheer!” She chuckles. 

“Joker, look out!” 

Joker leaps out of the way of the attack just in time. “Ok, so maybe I can change it to something else. We can’t have our leader get distracted!”

XVI. ♪ _Gentle Madman_ ♪ 

It takes a while for the eerie halls of what turns out to be Maruki’s palace to be filled with somber melodies. It’s the perfect fit, he thinks, and it’s a gentle reminder that everyone is together again. 

XVII. ♪ _Careless Whisper Pt. 2_ ♪

“What’s life in a reality cooked up to satisfy someone else? I say none. We have to win this. No matter what.”

Akechi only takes one more step towards the door before the saxophones start playing, freezing Goro in place. It’s another moment in life where this one song comes back to haunt him, and one day he will figure out a way to avoid this one god damn song. 

Akechi stays for another long moment before he turns back towards Akira. “It was her.”

Akira fiddles with his bangs and glances away. “Yeah…” he drawls, hiding the fact he is a little surprised Akechi hadn’t figured it out until just now. 

A loud buzz in the room draws Akira’s gaze back to Akechi, who slides his phone out of his coat pocket and swipes it open. He stares at whatever is on his screen, cheeks reddening the longer he looks, and clenches his phone between his fingers.

“You will pay for this,” Akechi hisses at the screen before he tucks his phone away. “But you’re lucky I’m giving you time to run for your goddamn life.”

Then Akechi marches towards Akira, each step more determined than the last, reaches out to grab Akira by the shoulders to pull him close. What is happening clicks in his mind and Akira surges forward just before Akechi’s lips slam onto his. 

(He messages Futaba his thanks later, while Akechi sleeps next to him, curled up against his side. She only messages him with a series of ‘lols’ and jokingly asks how much time she has left.)

XII. ♪ _Throw Away Your Mask_ ♪ 

When the vocals begin to kick in at the start of their battle against Maruki, Joker freezes and he can see Crow tense right next to him.

“What the fuck is this?”

“Is something wrong?” Violet’s soft voice looks at the group, still ready for battle. “I thought this was normal.”

“The song is very fitting,” Fox responds with disregard their reactions. “Sorrowful but kind,” he adds a few seconds later. “Maybe a bit desperate, though. But it seems written just for us as one final plea.” 

“No shit,” Crow hisses. “Oracle, turn the music off.”

“Um.” Oracle shifts from one foot to another. “I can’t.”

“Huh?” Skull turns to look back at Oracle. Joker shifts his attention off the others to make sure someone is watching Maruki as the chorus kicks in, but Maruki is watching them with a nervous expression on his face. “What do you mean you can’t?”

“Well… I won’t lie and say this wasn’t the song I was gonna pick, but uh... This is a cover that I’ve never heard before…”

Joker sees the realization dawn on Crow just as he himself realizes what’s going on. “Are you telling me this is his doing?”

“Was it a bit much?” Maruki chimes in with a sheepish voice. “I know I’m not the greatest vocalist but when I discovered you listened to music in palaces I thought it was a good idea.” 

“It was an awful idea,” Crow replies. Joker prepares to re-engage in combat the second he sees Crow readjust into battle stance and charges only seconds later. “So turn it off!” 

XIX. ♪ _I Believe_ ♪ 

“I’m really glad I didn’t try to get everyone to cover ‘I Believe…’” Futaba mentions in passing not even a day after Akira’s return from prison.

XX. ♪ _Our Light_ ♪ 

In March, when Akira’s packing his belongings he finds a vinyl record he doesn’t recognize tucked under some of the mementos on his shelf. The cover has an image of the Jazz Jin singer, and attached to the cover there’s a sticky note that reads: “I think you’d appreciate this you sentimental dumbass” and Akira has read it twice more before he chuckles.

“This time, I think that’s you…” Akira mumbles to himself. 

He doesn’t own a turntable, but he knows the store run by the kind elder across the street had one when he had last stopped by. There will be more weight in his luggage but Akira doesn’t hesitate to take a break to make the purchase before the store closes for the evening. 

When he returns he locks Leblanc’s door behind him and carries the turntable upstairs to his work desk. He hasn’t used one of these before but it doesn’t take him long to figure out, for the familiar voice of the singer from Jazz Jin to play her signature song. Akira settles into the chair, leans back as he listens to the tunes with a leather memento in hand. 

He doesn’t stop the record even when the song finishes, instead letting an unfamiliar song play, and then the one after that. The third song is familiar, one of the tunes Futaba had played as battle music that he can’t resist humming to, and he wonders how long Akechi had been laughing at him for not noticing that this whole time the two musical artists who frequented his life this past year were one and the same. 

Then the fourth and final song begins; it starts with a melancholic piano, the echo each note produces the only other sound accompanying the beginning. The lyrics resonate with him in the first half, but it’s once the second verse begins that this song sounds like the lyrics had been ripped from the events he's experienced this past year, and his heart begins to bleed and by the end of the song he’s sniffling. 

It’s a little too on the nose, and Akechi had hated that about the boss theme they were stuck with when fighting Maruki, but Akira’s pretty sure that this is what Akechi had wanted him to hear. A reminder, almost as if he knew Akira could get lost in his memories when reviewing the mementos he’s collected during his year in Tokyo. The message of this disc was twofold: it’s okay to remember, but keep moving on without regrets, that they’ve made their choices.

It is such an obvious thing, but painful all the same. 

“Asshole,” Akira laughs through the tears and starts the record from the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> This was originally meant to be a lot more silly… but then I decided I would add Shuake (I was considering keeping it gen at first) which meant some angst had to occur... and then I sprinkled a little bit more in… so oops. I also started this last month (I’m super slow and easily distracted haha) so it’s pretty much a neat coincidence that I’m posting this the same week the Persona OST got put on Spotify. Also let’s pretend I didn’t forget Morgana exists and then didn’t care enough when editing to fix that, so I’m just gonna say he doesn’t care for music. 
> 
> I’m also maleficaster on twitter.


End file.
